Looking Like a Fool For Love
by webcomix
Summary: One last summer before Arthur scoots off to university, and a new chapter of his life. But there are still some issues that need to be resolved. Spin-off of World Wide Story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I had always planned to end WWS with Arthur and HK's relationship being unsatisfying, awkward and without any real conclusion, but I also love the idea of the two of them together so much that they get another chance.**** I ****also decided to post my story about WWS's most angst-ridden couple on my birthday, because I frickin' adore them :3**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
The Invitation belongs to Oriah Mountain Dreamer.  
Ultimate X-Men belongs to Marvel Comics.  
Leonce and Lena belongs to Georg Buchner.**

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* * *

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Arthur rubbed the palms of his hands onto his pants nervously. Today was the day. He could hardly believe it was finally here.

The sound of Mr. Hubbard's speech droned on in the background as Arthur sneaked a glance to his left. He and his fellow seniors were all garbed in the same bright blue robes, along with a graduation cap. Those who were in the National Honour Society also had gold tassels draped around their necks – a group that included Arthur himself, Yao, and even Francis. Huh. Go figure. Observing his classmates, it was interesting to notice how some of them, like Gillian and Antonio, were wearing expressions of utmost glee. Obviously, some people couldn't wait to get out of school. Others, such as Roderich and Vash, were sitting as solemnly as they possibly could.

"And now, the diplomas." Mr. Hubbard nodded towards the homeroom teachers. "Each student will be called by name, with a note of what they plan for the future. First, we have Sadiq Adnan."

Arthur joined into the polite applause as the person on the other end of the line stood up and approached the podium. Still feeling amazed at the surrealism of this ceremony, he allowed his eyes to wander out into the crowds of friends and family that filled the auditorium seats. He squinted, wondering where exactly his own parents were.

"Gillian Beilschmidt. Gillian will be taking a gap year to do some traveling."

The girl leaped to her feet, letting out a loud whoop of delight as she practically ran over and tore the scroll out of Mr. Hubbard's hands. Pumping both fists into the air, she turned to the audience, beaming.

"FREEEEEEEEDOM!"

Ignoring the scandalized looks on a few teachers' faces, she cheerfully marched back to her seat amid laughter from the audience. Arthur couldn't help smiling himself, and continued people-watching. He finally located his parents, with his younger brother Peter sandwiched in between. Near them, Francis's mother, grandfather, aunt, and the Vargas girls also watched. On the other side of the auditorium, he noticed that Alfred and Maddie were also in attendance, just to show solidarity towards their friends. Alfred spotted him looking and shot him a thumbs up. Five rows down, Arthur saw the Wang family. Yao's father, looking exceptionally proud, was filming the ceremony on a camera. His mother was sobbing and clutching a Hello Kitty doll dressed in graduation robes, as the youngest sibling, Tian Wei, held a bouquet of flowers. Next to her, HK sat quietly. Arthur felt his stomach flip again.

"Arthur Kirkland."

Jolted back to the stage, Arthur hastily stood up and began shuffling towards the podium.

"Arthur has been accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He begins in the fall."

Now that he was actually near the front of the stage, the applause seemed completely deafening. Arthur quickly turned around, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. But as he turned back to his own class, the first sight that greeted him were Gillian, Antonio and Francis in the front row, all grinning excitedly at him and clapping. How on Earth did those three manage to sit together at graduation? Unbelievably, even their last names ended up side by side alphabetically. Arthur quickly walked past them back to his seat.

"Mathias Kohler."

Arthur sank back into his seat as the boy next to him eagerly stood to receive his own diploma. The remainder of the ceremony continued without a hitch, and before he knew it, Arthur was standing up alongside the rest of his class.

"I proudly present to you, the Hetalia High School Class of two thousand and..."

The last words were drowned out as the audience clapped heartily, with a few cheers thrown in (courtesy of Alfred, mostly). Gillian, Antonio and Francis craned their necks around to smirk mischievously at the rest of the class.

"'Kay, guys! One, two, three!"

Amid shouts of joy and laughter, everyone tossed the bright blue graduation caps upwards. For a moment, they all froze in the air before crashing down upon the stage.

"Heads up!"

"Ow!"

"Crap, where'd mine go?"

* * *

A few minutes later, the auditorium was a complete mesh of people, students, teachers and audience alike. Families hugged and friends doled out congratulations on the stage, in the aisles, and in the seats. Arthur waded through the sea of robes until he finally reached his own parents, who smiled at him.

"I can't believe it, you're all grown up," Mrs. Kirkland sighed as she embraced him tightly.

"Mum, I'm the fourth one to go. Surely you can't say you never saw this coming."

"Yes, true," she laughed as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "But you never get used to it."

Mr. Kirkland shook his hand formally. "This officially means that you're your own man now, son. Hope you pick all the right choices."

"Err, okay."

His parents gestured to the small figure standing off to the side, who was wearing a peculiar mixed expression of irritation and forlornness. In his hands was a small, neatly wrapped present.

"Peter, what do you say to your brother?"

Peter frowned, glancing down at the gift. "Can I have your side of the room when you go?"

"Peter!"

"Fine!" The younger boy thrust the package into Arthur's hands. "Happy graduation or whatever, jerk."

Arthur shrugged and took it. His mother smiled happily at him. "Open it."

Ripping the light blue tissue paper off, Arthur realized he was holding a book. _The Invitation_ by Oriah. On the cover, there was the picture of a yellow flower. He flipped it around and read the inscription on the back.

_It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.  
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare  
to dream of meeting your heart's longing.  
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know  
if you will risk looking like a fool for love,  
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive…_

"It's a lovely book. I can only hope that it will help you through anything you have struggles with," Mrs. Kirkland said.

He gave her another hug. "Thank you."

"Hey, Artie!"

They all turned to see Francis with his mother and grandfather. The taller blond bounded over to sling an arm over his shoulder. "Let's commemorate this moment, hm?"

Before he could protest, Gillian popped up on his other side, effectively preventing any chance of escape. "You can't get away from us this easily, Artyfarty pants!"

Arthur sighed. "Fine. Where's Antonio?"

"Good question. But I have a better one: where's Lovina?"

"Right."

As if on cue, the brunette came stomping back to them, with the remaining Bad Friend right on her heels. Lovina wrenched her wrist out of Antonio's grasp.

"I don't WANT to be in any of those stupid pictures, you bastard! I'm not graduating, you are!"

"But Lovi…"

"Your dumb friends are waiting," she interrupted, shoving him towards Arthur, Francis and Gillian before going to stand with her grandfather. He beamed at them and held up a camera, providing a complete contrast to the frowning girl next to him.

"Okay ~ ! On the count of three! One, two…"

As the camera flashed, Francis dove in to plant a kiss on Arthur's cheek, just as Gillian suddenly decided to yank hard on his robes, pulling him down so she could bestow an affectionate noogie upon him. He yelped and fell over, landing at Antonio's feet. The Spanish boy just smiled down at him.

"Y'should be more careful, Arthur!"

Arthur groaned as he pulled himself back up on his feet. "Something tells me that I won't miss you guys all THAT much…"

"Ah! I'm hurt, Artie." Francis clutched his chest melodramatically. "Cut straight to the heart. I will pine over you forever."

Gillian plopped his cap back onto his head. "Don't lie! You're totally going to miss our awesome. You'll leave this ROOM and want it back."

He rolled his eyes and walked back to his family. Peter was posing for a photograph with Berwald and Tina, who had often babysat him when he was younger. His parents were in deep conversation with Ms. Roma and the Beilschmidts – Mr. Kirkland waved Arthur off.

"I know you want to talk to your friends, so go ahead and meet us in half an hour."

Arthur nodded and walked away. Francis, Gillian and Antonio had disappeared to bother other people, so he began looking around. Recalling the last person he noticed in the audience before he got his diploma, he scanned the crowd for a head of black hair.

"Artie!"

He was attacked with a huge bear hug from behind, causing him to trip and fall backwards. Looking up, he saw Alfred's excited face radiating absolute happiness.

"Happy graduation!" Alfred squeezed him again, and Arthur thought he was going to pass out. "You're done! Finished! Everything!"

"Hi, Arthur. Congratulations," said another voice. Arthur looked over to see Maddie smiling back at him, almost apologetically.

"Thanks, guys."

Alfred grabbed the small gift out of his hands. "What's this?" He peered down at the cover. "A book? Lame."

Arthur snatched it back, scowling. "Just because you don't read doesn't mean books are lame."

"Hey, I totally read. What else do you think I do with my super cool comic collection? I have almost the entire Ultimate X-Men series now!"

"Hey, Arthur!"

The three of them turned around to see the entire Wang family standing behind them. Yao waved excitedly.

"Wanna get a picture, aru?"

"'Course he would!" Alfred suddenly grabbed Maddie by the arm and began dragging her away. "Oh look, there's Elizabeta! Let's congratulate her too."

"Umm, okay?" Maddie looked perplexed, but Alfred looked over his shoulder to throw Arthur an enormous wink. The recipient felt his cheeks heat up, and hoped Yao didn't notice.

Mrs. Wang held up a camera of her own. "Say cheers!"

"...Cheers?"

Yao turned to Arthur, looking exceptionally pleased. "Thanks! Maybe I'll see you again before we all leave, aru."

"Yeah, maybe."

"We should just have a big reunion. Okay, well, I gotta go find other people, aru. Bye!" Yao's sleek ponytail was set swinging as he wandered off into the crowd, his parents following him. One Wang family member stayed behind, however.

"Hey."

"Hey, Arthur. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

The younger Asian boy edged closer to him. Arthur held his breath, but all HK did was reach up and flick the tassel on his cap to the other side.

"It's supposed to be on the right side after you've officially graduated."

"Oh. Okay."

HK folded his arms and eyed Arthur through his jagged bangs. "London…that's really far away. How long is the flight?"

"About seven or eight hours."

"Hmm, that's not too bad."

"Not too bad? Are you serious?"

"To China, it's about fifteen hours nonstop."

"Oh, right."

There was another awkward pause. The noise of all the other people around them talking, laughing, cheering and hugging surrounded the two boys. Arthur felt very odd. He'd only felt strange talking to HK for the past two months. Before that, they'd been fairly close, and he wanted that back.

"Stoplight Theatre is putting on _Leonce and Lena_ next Thursday. You wanna come with? Weekend shows are pay what you can."

"Sure." HK hesitated before glancing up at him again. "Just us?"

"Yeah. Why, you want to invite someone?"

"No, that's totally fine." HK looked past Arthur to where Tian Wei was motioning at him. "Gotta go. See you then."

"Okay." Arthur felt the younger boy's arm brush against his as he walked past him, not looking back even once. When HK was gone, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. So, first task done. But did he have the courage to keep on going to the next one?

At least he had a week to think about it.

* * *

**A/N: You know all those teen movies that show the cap toss? I thought I'd depict something that they never do – the caps landing. Look, it's a piece of thick cardboard with four sharp corners haphazardly being chucked around. Those things are DANGEROUS. But on the other hand: awww, our lovely little class of Europeans (plus Yao...) are graduating! Congrats, guys!**

**Arthur gets to go to RADA since one of my acting instructors went there. She was in the same class as Alan Rickman, and they did **_**The Bacchae**_** together! :O Cool, huh?**

**I hope there are some people out there actually interested in reading this. I know UKHK isn't a very popular pairing, but I love them with the passion of a thousand Spains! R&R please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sooo…I hope **_**World Wide Story **_**taught me how to write romance, or else this chapter might really suck.**

**Story/Author Alert-ers: Hey! What happened to, "I developed a habit of updating every weekend?"  
Author: Um, "Running tech on a show + five essays of varying lengths + regular schoolwork/studying/extra-curricular on top of that + losing internet for about a week" happened.  
But I'm glad to be back!**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
Leonce and Lena belongs to Georg Buchner.**

* * *

"Did you like the show?"

It was a warm and beautiful summer night, so Arthur and HK decided to walk back from the theatre. Arthur shrugged.

"You mean the play itself, or the production?"

"Both."

Arthur stretched his arms back, letting out a small sigh. "I think it's an excellent comedy. The text almost has a Brechtian element to it, such as the bit that went, 'We have all been waiting for a very long time for this'- though it wasn't _that_ Brechtian, since nothing really happened that completely broke away from the plot, which is the basis of epic theatre…"

"Arthur, it's okay. Nobody is going to make you write a paper on this." HK's voice interrupted, tinged with amused sarcasm. "So you can stop being an intellectual now."

Arthur coughed, feeling slightly miffed. "What do you want me to say, then?"

"I asked if you _liked_ it. It's a simple question."

"Oh. Right, er," Arthur cleared his throat, trying to will his blushing cheeks to cool down. "Yeah, it was terrific. I love the character of the King. It's a lot like most people – we overanalyze so much that we miss out on the point and end up only confusing ourselves. Then we spend the rest of our lives sitting about, trying to make sense of it all. Maybe Valerio had a point – don't work yourself too hard, and try to enjoy the small pleasures in life."

"I agree with the overanalyzing."

Arthur shot his theatregoing partner an irritated look. HK continued.

"But that conclusion is kind of flawed, if you ask me. It wouldn't work. Like how at the end, Leonce allows Valerio to be Prime Minister even though his decrees are going to be the end of Popo." HK kicked at a discarded bottle cap. "Economically, at the very least."

"And you're telling me not to be an intellectual?" Arthur grinned. "Hypocrite."

"I'm not being intellectual; I'm making a real-world connection. Isn't that what your precious theatre is supposed to be doing anyway?"

"If that reflects your life, it's quite depressing to see that yours is focused on moneymaking."

"Sorry for being Asian, and therefore probably ending up in the finance or business industry one day."

"You could at least make an effort to break stereotype. Anyway," Arthur went on. "You're right. Not everybody can just do whatever the hell they want…"

"Sometimes you have to make personal sacrifices."

Arthur almost stopped to look at him. Really look at him. This was the exasperating thing about HK. He would always make the occasional comment that caught you off guard, because somehow, inside, you would feel like he meant something else. The vagueness was infuriating.

"What did you think of it, then?"

HK blew a small puff of air upwards at his bangs, causing them to flutter slightly. "The cheesecake bit was disgusting."

"Valerio was being _economical_."

"Ha. You're so clever," HK eyed him in mock disdain. "But it was funny. I liked it. A little boring to look at, though. I like an interesting set and costume design."

"True."

Moving from the busier streets to a residential area, the noises of cars and pedestrians faded away into the distance. The boys continued walking, the peaceful quiet ending their conversation. HK's hand collided into Arthur's as he let them swing naturally with his own gait.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

The two boys passed a church, standing tall and silent. They crossed the playground next to it. As he neared a swing set, Arthur gradually slowed down.

"Hey..."

A few paces ahead of him, the Chinese boy paused and turned around. "Yeah?"

"…Come here for a sec?"

HK slowly walked back towards him. Arthur could tell he was slightly confused. The shorter boy stopped about a foot away from him, face to face. "What?"

Arthur opened his mouth, but realized that he hadn't actually planned anything to say. He just stared at HK, whose eyebrows arched a little higher, waiting. Many people said that his face never expressed any emotion, which Arthur understood. HK had mastered the true neutral expression better than anybody he knew. But if you paid close enough attention, those dark brown eyes were always changing. After nearly a year and a half, Arthur realized he was finally starting to crack the code in the eyes – when HK was feeling content, upset, confused, or even playful…

And these eyes widened in surprise as Arthur leaned in closer to press his lips against that unmoving mouth in a gentle, chaste kiss.

HK froze in shock for a few seconds, allowing Arthur to actually savour the moment before breaking away. The boys just looked at each other.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Er…"

As soon as the sound escaped from him, HK suddenly pushed him violently backwards, causing Arthur to grab onto the swing's chain as not to lose balance. HK ran to the other side of the swing set, holding on to the frame. His back was towards Arthur, whose heart sank.

_Fuck, it's like Alfred all over again…_

"How long?"

HK wrapped one arm around the bar, his forehead pressed against it. Arthur couldn't see his face, for his bangs hung over his cheeks like a sheet of black fringe.

"What?"

"How long…did you start thinking…"

Arthur blushed. "Erm, not that long, really, I have to confess…somewhere in the middle of _West Side_ rehearsals."

"Oh."

Neither moved as a breezy wind skipped through the playground, causing some stray leaves to swirl around them and off into the night. Arthur took the moment to sit down onto the swing.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, I won't do it aga-"

"I'm not offended."

"Oh. Good?"

"Wait, never mind. I am offended." HK jerked away from the bar and began walking briskly back towards him.

"….Oh."

The Asian boy reached him, and Arthur could tell through the dim light that he was frowning. HK leaned down and grasped the front of Arthur's shirt.

"You're so slow, and stupid."

"I'm sorry…?" Arthur didn't understand where this was going, but didn't know what else to say.

"You're going to be such a mess in university..."

"Erm…"

HK's fingers tightened around the handful of cloth. "You're so…I thought…" Arthur looked up into those brown eyes again and saw a deep struggle as HK tried to put his next thought into words. Before he could interject, suddenly he felt something soft and warm being pushed against his mouth.

He was being kissed back.

When HK finally pulled away, breathing heavily, Arthur stood up from the swing, making sure that he wasn't going to push the smaller boy over. Going with instinct, he wrapped one arm around the slim waist, the hand on his other one stealing upwards to run his fingers through the shiny dark hair.

Now it was his turn to do the questioning. "So…how long did you…like…me…too?"

HK buried his face into Arthur's shoulder. "Maybe…a month…in freshman year…when you were assigned to me."

Arthur couldn't help smiling and tracing one finger down through the shaggy locks to his shoulders. "That's a long time."

HK wriggled out of the embrace. "I couldn't just...say it…"

Arthur pulled him back. "I know."

They stood there for a few more seconds, quiet and thoughtful, arms around each other.

Then, on a wordless cue, they broke apart and began walking towards the opposite street side by side. After crossing it, HK reached out and grabbed Arthur's hand. The rest of the journey was in sweet silence until they came across a red and white house. It was small, but light was pouring out the windows and it exuded the air of comfort and contentment. Arthur could hear the chatter of Chinese mixed in with a dog barking leaking from the open windows.

He turned to the boy next to him, whose face was now lit up from the house's glow. "So, when's the next time you're free?"

HK slowly disentangled his fingers. "Anytime, really…I mean, it's summer."

"Yeah…tomorrow?"

"If you like." HK glanced back up at him, and a rare smile spread across his face. Arthur grinned too.

"What's so funny?"

HK lifted his arm, evidently trying to hide the little grin forming there. "I don't know. You."

"Me? Because I'm slow and stupid?"

This time, HK laughed. It was something like the third time ever in his life that Arthur had heard it. The sound was breathy and quickly lost on the breeze. "Yes. Exactly."

Arthur felt himself instinctively reaching out for him again, but the door was flung open. A tiny Pomeranian bounded out, barking excitedly, surprising both as it dashed towards them.

"Ahh! Bo Zai, ni hui lai!"

The light flooding the boys was briefly obscured as Tian Wei ran after the dog. Arthur was trying to pet it, but Bo Zai kept on frolicking around his feet, sniffling at his legs with great enthusiasm. HK didn't even bother masking his mirth now, one arm holding onto the fence as he cracked up. Arthur thought it was wonderful to see him in his own home, at such ease.

Finally, Tian Wei was able to scoop up the squirming mass of fur. "Aiya, ge ge. Yao is mad because he caught him chewing on his new Graduation Hello Kitty…"

HK took the puppy from her arms. "Che…Mo man tai. I'll get him another one if he's really all that upset over it. Sorry about this, Arthur."

The blond shrugged as he scratched Bo Zai behind the ears. "It's fine…you still on for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll text you." HK began walking with his sister back into the house. Just before he stepped over the threshold, he looked over his shoulder to smile again. Tian Wei waved before closing the door, not realizing what had happened between the two of them.

Later, when Arthur was on the bus and finally on his way back to his own house, a thought struck him. He was leaving for England in a little over two months…which wasn't very long. His heart sank.

Rubbing his forehead, he looked out the window glumly. Of course. He knew it. The world loved to screw with his life. Throwing things at him enticingly, then reeling it back in just when he caught up to it…

The memory of a prince and princess running away from arranged marriage just to fall in love on their own suddenly surfaced.

And that was enough, for him.

Arthur slammed a palm onto the seat railing in front of him, startling a few other late-night bus riders.

"Damn it all, _I'm_ going to be _happy_."

* * *

**A/N: Yes! Three cheers for not wallowing in angst and self-pity for once! Arthur has a habit of springing random smooches on people, it seems. And, who knew **_**Leonce and Lena**_** can be such good flirt material? xD**

**Translations for the pinyin:**

**Bo Zai (Cantonese) = Little Ball (literally: 'ball boy'). It's my cousin's dog's name, and I think it's really cute. For the record, poms are really common in HK…they're really loud and yappy. I guess they emulate the people.  
Ni hui lai (Mandarin, thank you ThePsychicAnimelovingBookworm for correcting me!) = You get back here!  
Aiya, ge ge (Mandarin) = Oh no, older brother  
Mo man tai (Cantonese) = No problem. I recall that at some point in the anime, China exclaims, "Mei you wen ti!" which is the Mandarin equivalent. I giggled a lot at that.  
Che (Cantonese) = It's **_**somewhat **_**equivalent to "that's not a big deal" or "that's not worth it." It's really difficult to explain unless you hear it out loud a few times.**

**R&R to make me happy too, please :3 (I kind of need it at this point in the schoolyear…)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry, I've been extremely busy once again. Class is nearly over! Meaning, everything is due like, now. Gahh.**

**(Long spiel about recent Hong Kong drawings below)**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
'His Cheeseburger' belongs to VeggieTales.  
The Trumpet of the Swan belongs to EB White.**

**

* * *

**

May easily blended into June as the heat grew and completely enveloped the world. Arthur knew that his last high school summer would be the best he'd ever experienced, although it had barely started. The days were long and bright, dates on the calendar marked with trips to places such as the beach, an amusement park, the museum, or any other cool event that was going on nearby. These were separated by the equally lazy afternoons of wandering around their favourite places in the neighborhood, playing football (or soccer, as some people said it) with friends and having barbeques with the family. But most of it was spent with having some very quality alone time with HK.

Not that they completely isolated themselves from everybody else. When July crept upon them, Alfred dragged them both out to celebrate his birthday. It also turned out that HK and Maddie actually shared the same birthday too, so Arthur couldn't help feeling slightly left out when he found himself wedged up against the glass window of a diner's table booth.

"So, why do all my close friends have July birthdays? How did I miss out on this?"

Across from him, Alfred was busily counting on his fingers. "…Eight, nine. October. So, we should have all been conceived in October. Hmmm…" He scratched his head. "Halloween parties?"

He yelped when Maddie slapped his arm. "Seriously? Why would you actually WANT to figure that out? Don't make me lose my appetite!"

Alfred ignored the question and poked her wrist. "What's that?"

Maddie blushed and tried to hide her arm under the table. "Nothing…"

HK reached over and plucked her left hand away. "Birthday present?"

"Uh, yeah." They leaned in to see a silver charm bracelet. "It just showed up on my windowsill this morning."

"No note?"

"Uhhhh." Maddie glanced over at Alfred, who was busy draining his glass of soda. "Sort of."

Arthur did not understand. "How can someone only sort of leave a note?"

Blushing again, Maddie's eyes flickered to stare pointedly below the table. Arthur watched, confused, until he felt a swift kick to his shin.

"OW!" He glared at Alfred, who merely looked at him blankly. "Wha..?" Maddie kicked him again, and HK jabbed him in the side, frowning slightly. "Hey, what's with all the -"

The pleading look on Maddie's face silenced him. Alfred, oblivious to the frantic signals being tossed back and forth, used this opportunity to wave over the pretty redheaded waitress to their table. She walked up right away, smiling broadly at the attractive blond boy.

"Hey there, you guys know what you want?"

"Hell yeah! But first, I wanna refill," Alfred chirped, holding out his empty glass. With another glance from Maddie, Arthur quickly ducked under the table and snatched up a piece of paper that had been folded multiple times. He opened it beneath the table as Alfred continued flirting with the waitress. HK leaned closer to read over his shoulder.

_HAPPEH BIRTHDAY MY DEAR MADDEH  
16 is awesome I should know because I was 16 and I'm awesome  
Anyhoo let's meet up! call me  
-G  
XXX-XXX-XXXX_

Arthur and HK turned to each other, eyebrows raised. The waitress threw a wink at Alfred as she headed back towards the counter.

"Wait a second, we didn't order yet."

"I got burgers for all of us!"

"…Fine. But that means you're paying too."

"Nah, you're the only one who hasn't had a birthday in the past week, so you should treat us."

"WHAT?"

Maddie got up, surreptitiously snatching the tiny folded paper out of HK's hands. Before anybody could ask, she abruptly announced, "I'm going to the washroom." With that, she was off.

Alfred glanced back at her. "What was that all about?"

HK shrugged. "She needs to go to the washroom. Need we say anymore?"

"Okay, sure." Alfred leaned forward, grinning. "Soooo. How's summer going for you two?"

Arthur's face instantly reddened but HK just shrugged again. "Fine."

"Just fine?"

"Okay, maybe a bit more than fine."

Arthur had always been amazed at how HK could maintain a straight face at any given time.

"Well, it'd BETTER." Alfred smirked as he linked his hands together and placed them behind his head. "And don't forget that it's me you have to thank!"

HK blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because this dweeb-" Alfred jabbed a thumb over at the still blushing Arthur. "- can be so dense and spastic, like that bird that sticks its head in the sand…"

"…An ostrich?"

"YEAH! So, Arthur's an ostrich and had to be like, pushed off a cliff before he does anything. So I went all Sparta on his ass!" Alfred pumped a fist into the air.

HK stared at him for a few seconds before turning to the pile of embarrassed mush next to him. "…What?"

"He's saying that he kind of convinced me to actually tell you," Arthur mumbled from where he had buried his face into his arms. "Which is true, sorry."

The older teen felt something nudging his shoulder. Looking up, he found himself nose to nose with the younger Asian.

"You're cute," HK said calmly before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

When Maddie returned, she found Alfred laughing hysterically as Arthur blushed so hard that he could have rivalled Lovina Vargas (which, as all of them knew, was an incredible feat). She turned to HK, who was looking slightly bored, as usual.

"Do I want to know?"

"I'm not sure. Do you?"

"Doubt it," she sighed, slipping back into her seat. There was a brief silence, only broken when Alfred impatiently drummed his fingers upon the tabletop.

"What's taking so freakin' long?"

"Al, it's been like, ten minutes."

"Ten minutes too long!" He flopped back onto the cushioned back of their bench. "Just thinking about it makes me sooo hungry."

Arthur stared at him. "You can't even wait for less than an hour for a cheeseburger? Some great devotion you have there."

This remark caused Alfred to sit up in indignation. "You want to see _devotion_? I'll give you devotion!"

Before either his friend or sister (HK couldn't care less, really) could stop him, Alfred burst into song.

_YOU'RE MY CHEESEBURGER,  
MY YUMMY CHEESEBURGER,  
I'LL WAIT FOR YOU-OO, YEAH  
I'LL WAIT FOR YOU-OO, OHHH_

Arthur continued staring, completely helpless as startled heads turned and curious faces peered over the dividing walls of the booths. Alfred didn't seem to notice Maddie was melting into a pile of mortified goo next to him as he went on.

_YOU ARE MY CHEESEBURGER,  
MY TASTY CHEESEBURGER,  
I'LL WAIT FOR YOU-OO,  
OH I WILL WAIT FOR YOUUUU_

Arthur was surprised to feel something pressed against his shoulder. Finally ripping his gaze from the ridiculous scene in front of him, he looked down to see HK's face buried into his sleeve.

After staring down at this new picture for a few seconds, Arthur finally realized just what was so oddly different from normal. HK was shivering. Trembling, more accurately, with laughter.

When Alfred finished his heartfelt melody to his amused (and for a select few, decidedly unappreciative) audience, he looked up to see two teenage boys sitting across from him, having dissolved into an extremely undignified mess of giggles. He rolled his eyes and turned to Maddie.

"No respect for my feelings at all, honestly."

* * *

"Well…THAT'S interesting."

A week later, they were sitting in Arthur's backyard, doing absolutely nothing but being slothful and content. Arthur had his eyes closed, legs stretched out on the grass and leaning against the thick trunk of a tree. HK was next to him, his own legs carelessly draped over Arthur's knees.

"What's interesting?" he queried, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Maddie just texted me. Apparently she's going to Tomorrow World with Gillian tomorrow…"

"_Tomorrow World?_ Like the theme park?"

"Apparently."

Arthur finally squinted up at the leaves. "Can I just say that I'm still really weirded out about this?"

"Me too. I didn't know they were so into science fiction."

"No, I meant about…Maddie and Gillian."

"Oh. Right, that too." HK glanced down at him. "We might weird other people out too…"

"But, nobody knows about us except for Al and Maddie." It had been an unspoken mutual agreement not to be too outward with their affection in public. Part of this stemmed from the fact that HK had incredibly conservative parents, and another came from not wanting to deal with the plethora of questions that would have come their way. But when Arthur thought about it, he just didn't care. His own personal happiness was not something he needed, nor wanted to flaunt to the world.

"Wait, does Al know about her and Gillian?"

"Nope. So don't say anything." HK shifted in his arms, finally freeing Arthur's legs as he moved away. "Speaking of, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Don't take it the wrong way…"

"I won't."

"I'm not just replacing Alfred or something, am I?"

Arthur stared at him. Seriously? He decided to voice exactly that.

"Seriously?"

"Yes." HK had the tendency to respond to rhetorical questions, even when he knew no answer was expected. Arthur always considered it to be part of his quirky sense of humour, but there wasn't any joking around now. "I know you spent the better part of at least three years getting over him…"

"What? How? Who told you that?" Arthur felt colour rushing into his cheeks.

"You."

"ME? When?"

"That one time last year after we went to see _The Tempest_. Your cousin was in the crew or something, and she invited us to the cast party…then alcohol got involved and I was the one who had to drag your sorry ass home. It's all you would talk about." HK rattled off the facts lightly, though Arthur could sense irritation beneath the smooth tone.

He tried to collect his thoughts as they sat there in the shade of the leaves. HK had completely broken away from him, and was sitting on his knees a few inches away. His head was bowed towards the ground, irregular bangs floating down like a dark curtain of seaweed. Arthur had come to recognize this stance as one of self-protection – hiding the one last giveaway of emotion, his eyes. Still, slim fingers twisted and tugged on the grass and weeds next to him, betraying the mask of calm.

"No," Arthur finally said. "Definitely not." He scooted over until he was directly in front of the kneeling boy. "You and Al are complete opposites of each other. Comparing the two of you is almost impossible." He brushed the offending black locks out of the way, meeting wary brown irises. "So get that out of your head this instant."

Then all too soon, he felt soft lips press hard against his, and he gave in without any restraint. Call him cheesy, overemotional, or flat-out pathetic, but every time they kissed Arthur couldn't help feeling amazed that somebody out there was actually willing to touch him so lovingly, that he wanted and cared about him that much. His brain was completely blanked out, and he registered only the physical sensations…the wetness, the warmth, the soaring feeling of joy that surged through his chest.

They remained entangled in each other for what seemed like forever, right up until the voice of Arthur's mother called to them.

"Boys! Yao's here to pick up his brother. He has a family dinner to get to, and it's clear across town."

Arthur slowly began unwinding himself from the younger boy reluctantly. HK didn't even bother moving away, still keeping his arms wrapped around Arthur's waist and resting his cheek on his chest.

"Hey, you're going to be late to your thing."

"Don't care. It's boring anyway." HK snuggled up closer to him, a warm sigh escaping from his mouth to hover over Arthur's collarbone, making his heart skip a beat. "It's just going to be relatives yakking away at each other as loud as they can over platters of food. I'm only going because that restaurant has this great lobster and noodle dish."

Arthur could see Yao's silhouette behind the back door. "HK, honestly…"

He felt the lips now pressing into his neck curl up into a smirk as the door swung open to reveal a fairly cheerful Yao.

"Wei-ya, Ho Kam! Stop wasting time, aru…" Yao trailed off in surprise as his own dark brown eyes took in the compromising position of the two boys.

Arthur didn't know what to do, so he just sat there as HK finally let go of his waist. But he still leaned in close to whisper into his ear.

"Call me, okay?"

He nodded silently as the sixteen year old hopped up the stairs, through the door and past his brother without a single word about the scene that had just played out before him. Yao watched him go in amazement, and then glanced back to Arthur, who just shrugged and smiled. Eyes narrowing slightly, Yao quietly shut the door, disappearing from sight.

Arthur didn't move until he heard the car out front rumble away. When all was quiet once more, he threw himself back onto the grass, sighing contentedly. The raptures of the deep. Where was that from, again? He lay there, not feeling any hurry until the memory resurfaced in his mind. Oh right, that book – _Trumpet of the Swan _by EB White. He remembered reading it in grade three, about a swan that had a voice deficiency so he had to play a trumpet…anyway, Louis, the swan, also fell in love throughout the course of the book. Louis had compared being in love with diving deep into still waters, experiencing the raptures of the deep. Arthur knew exactly what that meant.

After mulling this odd metaphor over, Arthur had to laugh. Now he was comparing himself to a swan. A fictional swan. Either he was going crazy (highly possible) or perhaps this kind of thinking was another ridiculous thing love did to you. The raptures of the deep...he didn't want to surface.

* * *

**A/N: I grew up watching VeggieTales. It's very educational. For example, the Polish word for "lip" is "usta!" And it taught me Spanish too, something that definitely was otherwise lacking during my childhood. "Mire el tomate. No esta triste? El no puede bailar. Pobre tomate!"**

**The **_**Trumpet of the Swan**_** reference came out of nowhere apart from me thinking that it's a pretty good metaphor for being head over heels in love. And I just love seeing Arthur NOT being angsty, and simply happy instead.**

**

* * *

**

**Bamboo Thicket ramble:**

**Himaruya has been churning out some really nice drawings on his blog lately, including a terrific one of Hong Kong wearing modern clothing, at what looks like the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. I love hanging around TST! So it made me very happy. **

**And the Nyo!Asians! I was slightly disappointed because I always imagined fem!HK to have short hair, like her counterpart. But I shouldn't complain, because SHE'S WEARING ARMWARMERS. Just like I often do. AND IS HOLDING A PLATE OF EGG TART. Freshly baked egg tart is the best. $2 dan taat from that tiny, old school bakery in North Point = win. I tried baking some once, but it was so hard to get the pastry and custard cooked perfectly together…**

**Can we call her Lena Wang? Thanks to Herr Buchner, I now think Lena is the natural opposite of Leon and its variations.  
And now that we actually have a fem!HK, I just MIGHT pair her up with a certain Korean…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay! The school year is finally completely over for me, so I hope to get back into the writing saddle regularly again. Ideas for stories have been overflowing out of my brain recently, and tomorrow, if all goes accordingly (read: if I can get the first damn chapter done), a new series shall begin. I'm so excited!**

**But first, our much needed dose of UKHK.**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
Peter Pan belongs to JM Barrie.**

* * *

Arthur ultimately DID rise out of his blissful funk later on that evening. After realizing what had just happened, he spent a good part of the night freaking out over what the hell he was going to tell Yao, or if HK would do the explaining (though that was highly unlikely). The eldest Wang sibling was well known for being very overprotective of anyone in his charge – his younger brother and sister very, VERY much included.

The next day, when he showed up at the red and white house, Yao greeted him at the door with a very solemn stare. He held up a hand when Arthur opened his mouth to plead.

"It's fine, aru. As long as he doesn't get hurt, okay?"

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, I promise. I would never…"

"But look," Yao interrupted. "I have to say that your timing sucks, aru. I'm going to go in about two weeks. You'll be leaving next month. Why did you decide to start something like this when you know it can't last, aru?"

Arthur had no answer to this question. Yao shifted his weight and his dark brown eyes darted around the corridor awkwardly.

"I'm not really blaming you…he's not stupid. Just be gentle about it when it happens please, aru."

A steady beat of muffled thumping came into earshot as HK trundled down the carpeted stairs. He stopped short when he spotted the two of them crowded at the front door.

"What's going on?"

"Just talking, aru."

"About what? Me?"

"Maybe." Arthur and Yao waited as HK shuffled into his shoes. The younger boy brushed past his brother, throwing back a slight wave before grabbing Arthur's hand and practically running out the door. Arthur turned around to say goodbye to Yao, but the taller Chinese boy was already closing the door with a faint smile. As soon as they were out of earshot, HK began interrogating him.

"Honestly. What did he say?"

"Nothing much. I guess he's cool with us."

"Yeah…there's nothing he can do about it. At least he didn't say anything to a-Ba and a-Ma."

"Mmm," Arthur could only reply. They lapsed into their typical silence as they headed down the street. How could he have forgotten? Nothing good would last forever. This relationship was just a ticking time bomb. It was the beginning of August. One month before everything would fall apart. What was he going to do?

* * *

Arthur was loath to believe that he was actually standing in front of Hetalia High again. The moment he'd walked out of the auditorium with his diploma and graduation robes, he had intended to leave this place completely. But here he was now, at 2:50 PM, waiting for that one part of him that was still inside.

"Artie!"

He turned around in surprise to see Antonio waving excitedly at him from down the street. When he arrived on the front steps, the boys exchanged a brief (and kind of awkward) hug before beginning a real conversation.

Antonio glanced up at the stained, boring, grey building. "Wow, can't believe we'd actually come back, huh?"

"Exactly my sentiments." Arthur stole another look at his watch. "Why are you here?"

His former classmate beamed. "Today I had a day off, so I decided to come meet Lovi. I haven't seen her since…" He paused, looking thoughtful as the sun gave his brown curls a soft shine. "I haven't seen her in FIVE days, when she came up for the weekend! Felt like forever, though."

Arthur bit back a sarcastic reply. He probably wasn't one to laugh…if Antonio couldn't last seeing his girlfriend for less than a week, how would he feel if about having an entire ocean separating him from his own boyfriend for over three months?

Antonio's singsong voice broke into his thoughts. "Why are you here?"

Arthur shifted his weight, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Sure, he hung out with Antonio a lot back in grade ten and eleven, but it was mostly when the rest of the Bad Friends Trio were there too. Antonio was probably the one he was least close to. He was a nice guy, though.

"Waiting for HK."

Antonio's eyes widened slightly with great interest and he opened his mouth to comment, but that was when the final bell rang and the air around them exploded with the noise of liberated students. After a few minutes, the doors burst open and the first flood of people eager to leave poured out. Antonio and Arthur had to jump aside as to not get swept up in the melee.

"Lovi!"

A certain scowling girl had emerged from the masses, heading towards them. Antonio automatically pounced upon her, laughing with joy.

"Oh Lovi, I missed you so much are you hungry we can go get something to eat or I'll just take you home and we can stay there because your grandpa and mom says I'm welcome to stay over if you don't mind that is-"

"Hey dumbass, take a breath before you pass out," Lovina grumbled, wrenching herself out of his grip. Turning around, she started when she spotted her former director. "Crazy tea bastard? The hell are you doing here?"

"Euhhh…" Arthur stammered, feeling slightly embarrassed and very awkward at the shameless display of affection that Antonio was now bestowing upon Lovina. Watching her squeal in rage and making valiant attempts to dodge his kisses was rather fascinating, so much that he didn't notice a slender figure pop up next to him.

"Good choice." HK slipped one arm around Arthur's waist and nodded towards the other couple, who had progressed into the whining and pouting stage of reunion. "Awkward greetings are my favourite."

"Hey, HK!" Antonio chirped as Lovina violently tugged on his shirt. "Good to see you again! Are you directing the show this year?"

"I hope so. Just handed in a proposal for _Peter Pan_. The play, not the musical."

Lovina had paused in her struggle against Antonio's smothering hold to look up at Arthur and HK. With one glance, she suddenly understood.

"God, Antonio. It's fucking rude to interrupt people." Instantly, she was marching off, pulling Antonio along with her.

As he was being hauled away, Antonio blinked with mild confusion at her surprisingly sensitive admonition before breaking back into a grin.

"Okay, have a great year! I'll come watch the play for sure!"

"Yeah, thanks," HK called back in amusement. The two of them began walking away in the opposite direction. "Where did he come from?"

"His relatives have a farm somewhere close, and he kind of works there now. It takes a while to get there though, like a three hour drive."

"Cool. Did he decide to do that just to stay with Lovina?"

"As far as I know, it wasn't planned that way. But it works out pretty well for them." They stopped at a curb. Arthur turned to his companion with a heavy heart, his tongue feeling too thick and floppy in his mouth. "HK?"

"Yeah?" The younger teen glanced up at him, and his eyes automatically narrowed when he recognized the look on Arthur's face. "What."

"I'm not staying here, like Antonio. I'm leaving for England in September."

"I know."

"So…I can't…be here for you."

The light they were waiting for switched to WALK, but HK froze in place.

"Are you talking physically, emotionally, or both?"

"HK..."

"Out of sight, out of mind?" He challenged, a frown crossing his features. Arthur hadn't seen that expression in months.

"No! I'm just scared that," Arthur rubbed his forehead. "Things will get difficult."

"Oh, I see," HK intoned impassively. "We'll split and you'll go over there and cry like an emo kid in the _depressingly_ bleak British weather, until one day, all at once, this really nice guy with green eyes shows up. And he's super sensitive, listens to you all day. You can tell him how tough things are, to leave everything you knew behind, especially your little cute Asian boyfriend who's just a distant memory now…"

"HK, stop it."

"…Then you'd hop into his lap and cross me off your list. That's how it goes."

"HK."

"What?"

"I'm not gone yet."

The walking light flickered affirmative again, but neither boy made a move to cross the street. HK's eyes darted around the space, reluctant to meet Arthur's.

"I know…"

Throwing caution to the wind, Arthur grabbed HK by the waist, going by impulse.

"All I wanted to say is that we really have to cherish this time together, because there's not much of it left. Got it?"

HK nodded, and Arthur pulled him closer.

"Because…I love you. Very much. You're too precious to throw away so easily. Even if anything happens to us, it would take a lot more than some idiot with green eyes." He smiled slightly. "I've got green eyes too, so they don't really do much for me…"

At that, a smile – in the course of three months, the appearance rate of this phenomenon had soared - spread over the face of the teenager in his arms. "Sorry. I guess it's because I love green eyes."

Right there, on the corner just two blocks away from school, in front of the entire world, nothing felt sweeter than that kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there, a cameo from our previous lead couple! Spamano, you're soooo cuuute.**

**Real life shows that long distance university relationships are kind of difficult to continue. Will they be able to do it? I don't know, but hope to heaven that they do because they're just so sweet. I mean really, I felt like I the sugar level of the last few lines there was going to give me a heart attack and **_**I**_** wrote it.**

**Also, I am VERY aware that I totally lifted some lines out from **_**Run Lola Run**_** xD it's one of my favourite films of all time, so I'm calling it an affectionate shout-out. And crediting it right here: **_**Run Lola Run**_** belongs to Tom Tykwer and Sony Pictures. It is a brilliant display of film editing and panicked redhead dashing around Berlin.**

**By the way, I made a LiveJournal. Same username because I use it on practically every site I have an account on. Feel free to say hello if you wish C: I love making friends!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I remember the summer after I finished high school. It was constantly peppered with trips to the airport to say goodbye – one of my friends actually kept track and ended up waving in the departure hall no less than nine times.**

**I'll see that awesome airport again in a week ^-^ Going home for the summer! No more bipolar Canadian weather, just heat and humidity for four straight months. And I CAN'T WAIT.**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.  
Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet belong to William Shakespeare, but everybody knows that and it's public domain anyway.  
The Invitation belongs to Oriah Mountain Dreamer.**

* * *

The rest of August tumbled by and before he knew it, Arthur was helping his father heft the three heavy suitcases out of the family van's trunk. As his mother fussed over the handling, Peter came coasting back with one of the luggage trolleys at top speed.

"Hey, jerkface! Watch out!"

Arthur hopped to the side but a corner bumped against his ankle anyway.

"Ow!" He glared at his younger brother, who just stuck a tongue out at him. "Two more hours and I'm out of your life for the next few months, so can't you give it a rest for just one moment?"

"Nope!" Peter popped the 'p' and ran back towards their mother. All four of them walked inside the bustling airport. Mr. Kirkland gestured towards the long rows of check-in counters.

"Over there, son. By the by, aren't your friends coming along to see you off?"

"Yes, but Alfred's driving. Which means they're definitely going to be late."

"Hey! Stop makin' up crap about me!"

Just as the family had joined the line of people checking in, three figures came ambling up, Alfred leading the small pack with his nonchalant stride and pleased expression.

"You said eleven thirty, and I'm totally here at…" He twisted around in search of a clock. Maddie rolled her eyes and pulled out her cell phone.

"Eleven thirty-seven."

"Whoo! Less than ten minutes. That's practically on time!" Alfred beamed and reached over the flimsy barrier to awkwardly hug his friend.

"You know what. Let's just get rid of this weird thing." The thin plastic railing emitted a loud ZIP sound as Alfred, Maddie and HK squeezed into the line-up. The people behind them looked unamused, but such was the typical reaction whenever Alfred was involved.

"How long's the flight, Arthur?"

"Seven hours and forty-five minutes."

"Man! Hope you charged your iPod."

"I brought a book."

"LAME!"

HK still hadn't spoken this entire time. After all, he already knew the answer to all of those questions, so all he did was put his arms around Arthur's waist and lean into his chest with a sigh. Alfred and Maddie were quite accustomed to this sight by now, so neither of them commented on it. Peter, bored, had pulled out his Nintendo DS a while ago and didn't notice, while Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland were talking to themselves, allowing the teenagers time to chat alone.

"A lot of people in your class are actually going to be Europe too, right?"

Arthur nodded. "Roderich's going to Vienna, Elizabeta will be near him in Budapest, Vash in Geneva, Mathias in Copenhagen…I don't remember other people right now."

"Gillian and Francis are leaving too," Maddie cut in.

"What's everyone going to study?"

"Roderich's obviously doing music, Elizabeta and Mathias are both in life sciences, and I think Vash said something about commerce…"

As the line inched forward, Arthur slowly became aware of the complete silence coming from the person nestled at his right. Alfred, in a rare moment of observation, smirked, and proceeded to tease him about it.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked. "You're not going to see him for a long time."

HK blearily open one eye to stare balefully at him.

"I'm tired," he said defensively.

He didn't leave his side, even when they finally got a free counter and checked in the heavier suitcases. It was only when all of them were hovering before the door leading to the gates when they let go of each other. Arthur first turned to his parents.

"Well, erm…this…is it?"

Both of them pulled him into a very tight hug, something completely unprecedented. His mother kissed him on the cheek.

"Whatever choices you make, we trust you. Call us when you arrive, and send our love to Daryn, alright?"

"Sure." Arthur glanced at Peter, who was jabbing feverishly at his device with intense concentration. "I don't think this guy will miss me much."

"Peter, say goodbye to your brother!"

"Why should I? There's Skype and Facebook and the phone, anyway!"

Arthur sighed. Alfred punched him in the arm.

"You're going to be the best in your class, I know it!"

"Thanks…" Arthur was getting very uncomfortable with all these hugs. "…Don't count on it though, I bet everyone else will have loads more experience than I have."

"Be more optimistic, Arthur," Maddie chided as he turned to her next. "You're a hard worker. I hope you have fun over there."

"Yeah…"

The last person was still standing a few paces back, arms folded across his chest a little protectively. Arthur ignored these distancing signs and walked directly up to him until there was only an inch of space between them.

"Any famous last words?"

"I don't know. Can't think of anything appropriate."

"So you're thinking of inappropriate things, now?" Arthur joked. HK couldn't resist cracking a smile at that one. "That's rather unlike you…" Arthur kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Arthur, you can't miss your boarding time," Mrs. Kirkland called out.

He could only nod as he grabbed his carry-on. Nobody said a word when he walked up to the security officers, who waved him through after a glance at his boarding pass. Arthur wanted to keep things clean and short, but just as he made ready to walk through the doorway, he paused and looked back.

His friends and family were watching him – even Peter had stopped playing his game for a moment to stare back. Alfred had an arm slung around both Maddie and HK. When he noticed Arthur's hesitation, he flashed him his biggest grin and let go of Maddie to shoot him a thumbs-up, slightly jostling HK in the process.

Arthur could almost hear that obnoxious, familiar voice…

"_No sweat, man! The Hero'll take care of him for ya!"_

So he turned on his heel and strode purposefully onwards.

* * *

Arthur sank into the thinly cushioned seats in front of his gate. Though going through the metal detectors was always a pain, typical airport procedures were simple enough. After snatching his stuff back from the machines, Arthur found himself with a grand total of twenty minutes to spare before boarding time. He could have had more time to say goodbye...his parents worried too much, honestly.

There really wasn't much to do. None of the stores interested him (and were too expensive, anyway), and he didn't feel like reading the book yet. Maybe he could charge his laptop here so if he got sufficiently bored enough, he could play some games on the flight. Arthur unzipped his backpack.

And froze in surprise when he pulled out a small box that had been resting on top of all his other stuff. It was about the size of a teacup. Brown. Cardboard. Nothing out of the ordinary. He wrenched off the lid and the scent of dried flowers hit his senses automatically. Sticking his fingers in the mound of petals, he fished out a ring.

This too, was also plain and unassuming. A dull gold band with no features whatsoever. Except...Arthur had to squint to see the writing on the inside.

_I love thee._

Only one person knew how much he secretly loved Baz Luhrmann's film of _Romeo and Juliet_. Arthur pulled out another item from the depths of the box, a small card.

_There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray, love, remember: and there is pansies, that's for thoughts. There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for you, and here's some for me: we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays. O! You may wear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they all withered when you went away…So, goodbye, goodbye, parting is such sweet sorrow, that I can only say goodbye 'til it be morrow. _

_Just some of the silliest, most romantic lines I can think off the top of my head. Be proud of me._

_And please don't forget me._

_See you in Dec?…seems like forever…_

_Love,_

_HK_

Arthur flipped the card over, where in the same thin, neat handwriting was an excerpt from another of his favourite monologues:

_Come, gentle night. Come, loving black-browed night. Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars. And he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun._

"British Airways Flight 7197 to London Heathrow is now boarding for passengers in rows twenty to thirty five," intoned a crisp female voice from the loudspeakers. "Please have your passport and boarding pass ready, thank you."

Arthur slowly got to his feet, still holding onto the open box. Though the people sitting around him were busily packing up laptops and hurrying over to the line beginning to form, he was reluctant to move. In the end, he carefully replaced the card, tugged the ring onto his left forefinger, and went over to the line.

"May I see your passport and boarding pass, please?"

The ring glinted dully in the sunlight as he held out his hand to take back his boarding pass stub from the flight attendant. It was the last thing he noticed before his legs, moving on autopilot, guided him down the ramp and into the plane itself. It was the only thing on his mind until, another twenty minutes later, they were finally taking off. Arthur stared out the window and watched what previously had been his world shrink beneath him.

"Excuse me, young man. But do you mind closing the window? The light is rather blinding."

Arthur graciously acquiesced to the request of the thin, elderly man next to him. There went the city. Seven hours left. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the book his mother gave him, scanning the back excerpt once more.

_It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know  
if you will risk looking like a fool for love,  
for your dream, for the adventure of being alive…_

He reread that one stanza over and over again. As he moved his hand to actually open the book, the ring caught his eye again.

Arthur grinned, flipped to the first page, and began to read.

_FIN_

* * *

**A/N: It was my intention from the very, very start (meaning when I began writing WWS) that these two would have a bittersweet ending. There really isn't any other way to do it. Even history dictates that they can't stay together. But it was lovely while it lasted.**

**I'm highly flattered if anyone read through this entire story, as it was written COMPLETELY for my own pleasure. With all the random drama references (a love letter written using mostly Shakespeare quotes? Really, now) and the fact it's a fairly unpopular pairing, it should have been pretty obvious.**

**Thank you for reading! ****(There might be an omake too from a particular Asian's POV...)**


	6. OMAKE: You Don't Need to Smile

**OMAKE: You Don't Need To Smile**

**A/N: I realized that I've always written this pairing from Arthur's point of view. And as a Hong Konger, I daresay that HK deserves to have his own POV heard.**

**This could have been a story all on its own, but I think it was better to post it as an omake, as to give some context to people. Set somewhere between chapters 2-4.**

**Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

You don't need to smile to be happy.

First of all, smiling takes up a lot of energy. Did you know that it takes about twelve different muscles in the face to smile? Forget that aphorism about frowning requiring more - HK rarely ever frowned. People who interpreted his blank neutral expression for something akin to anger were sorely mistaken. Though, granted, it wasn't entirely their fault, since he hardly ever bothered correcting them either.

Secondly, he didn't feel the need to share his feelings with the world. Call him selfish, but he didn't even think that was even remotely possible. Nobody would be able to feel that fountain of joy exactly the way he did, and nobody would understand why. Why something as random as a boy walking away from him could possibly make him feel so deliriously happy.

Yes, walking _away_. Because this time, he would turn around and come back. HK knew this as if it had been premeditated. Premeditated by himself, the King of the entire universe. Nothing could oppose him. He could command mountains into collapsing if need be.

On cue, Arthur paused and glanced back in mild surprise. "Aren't you coming along?"

The third reason not to smile was to concentrate every other atom of energy into committing this image to memory: the sun dipping low over the lake, sending the sky into warring flames of pink and blue and the lake into a plate of shimmering glitter. Directly in front of him, his t-shirt, shorts, and uneven hair quivering in the breeze, Arthur waiting for his companion to join him. The orange sun was positioned right behind his head, framing it with a hot blaze that turned ash blond to gold.

HK thought he looked like an angel.

Tearing his eyes from the sight, HK slowly uncurled himself off the perch of the bench. Arthur waited patiently, one hand outstretched. Ignoring the offering, HK launched himself at the boy, inwardly exulting at the small, startled yelp that popped out of Arthur as HK pounced on not just the hand, but Arthur's entire right arm.

He didn't want just part of him. He wanted all of it. As much as he could get. Everything. First selfish, now greedy. HK was beyond caring at this point. This might be the only time he could get everything he ever wanted, which was right here next to him.

Arthur didn't seem to mind having an Asian boy in possession of his arm as they began to walk along. He opened his mouth and began talking about topics that HK wasn't interested in at the moment. Something about receiving word on a suite in London, contacting flatmates, proximity to the university campus, a deep-seated phobia of cooking for himself, etc…HK closed his eyes and leaned his head against Arthur's shoulder. He didn't care for plans for the future. In fact, he loathed them. Because right now was _right now_ and it should be all that really mattered.

The sudden sensation of coolness around his toes signalled that they'd reached the lake. Water slid beneath his feet and over his sandals, causing him to slip briefly towards the sharp pebbles beneath.

"Whoa!" He was automatically supported by hand snatching up his own. "Watch out, there…"

"I think I cut my foot," he replied, lifting it up. Sure enough, tiny rivulets of red trickled down his ankle to drip into the water, where it dissipated instantly.

Arthur shot him an exasperated look. "Then you ought to have been watching where you were going."

"No, you should have taken care of me better." HK jumped at the chance to seize a better target: Arthur's waist.

This move was rewarded by the same expression of wry amusement, which gave way to a blushing flusteredness when HK boldly began nuzzling his neck.

"Ahhh…if you keep this up, we'll both slip and fall over."

"But you still owe me." HK paused thoughtfully. "You can carry me back."

"Are you serious?" Arthur scanned the distance they had just come from. "That's uphill. On uneven terrain. All the way to the parking lot?"

You don't need to smile to stare up at your boyfriend with wide, dark brown eyes, and to watch him cave into your wishes.

"Fine. Up you go."

He crouched down and HK nimbly scrambled up onto his back. Looping his arms beneath HK's knees, Arthur started on his journey back across the park and up the slope where they could finally go home. HK, from his leisurely position, took the chance to enjoy this moment.

He stretched his arms across Arthur's willing shoulders, having them come to rest across the collarbone. The wind picked up again, sending strands of hair to fly upwards, tickling his chin with the ends. HK accepted this invitation to bury his face into it. Arthur smelled like grass and lemon and everything good in the world.

HK forgot that his heartbeat would betray the rhythm of his happy fountain, and it was pressed against Arthur's spine. It flipped when his carrier let out a sudden, low chuckle, but HK pretended not to notice.

"You think you can lord anything over me, eh?" Even with his face turned away, HK could see the smirk spread across Arthur's face in his mind. "Nice try, but not even close."

The rest of the journey was made in peaceful silence, and HK rested his cheek against Arthur's head again.

The last, most convincing argument of all: you don't need to smile when he already knows just how you feel about him.

* * *

**A/N: The real soundtrack for this ENTIRE fic would be "Rhythm of Love" by the Plain White T's. If anyone wanted to know.**

**Eurgh, jet lag sucks. Normally, I don't have a problem with this because I always arrived back at night, but today for some reason my flight got in at 2 PM instead. Okay, I'm hurling my brain-dead body into bed now. Hope you enjoyed this fic!**


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